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The year 1958 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1958.
- January 1 – Suomen Televisio, later known as Yle TV1, begins regular broadcasting.[1]
- January 28 – Short-lived station KTRX signs on the air in Kennewick, Washington.
- January 14 – Television Wales and the West (TWW), the first ITV franchise for South Wales and West of England, begins broadcasting.
- January 17 – TV Peru, the first television channel in Peru, begins operations.[2]
- January 25 – Royal Thai Channel 5, officially launched in Bangkok, Thailand.[3]
- February 17 – Pope Pius XII designates St. Clare of Assisi the patron saint of television. Thereafter, placing her icon on a television set was said to improve reception.
- April 19 – Chronicle Broadcasting Network, the predecessor of ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines, launches DZXL-TV Channel 9.
- April 30 – Moldova TV signs on the air at 19:00, making it the very first television network in Moldova.
- May 2 – CCTV-1 began on an experimental basis as Peking Television.
- July 1 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) links television broadcasting across Canada. The CBC's microwave network between Nova Scotia and British Columbia, completed this year, makes it the longest in the world.
- August 23 – Television Belgrade, as predecessor for RTS1, a first regular television broadcasting station officially service start in Serbia, former part of Yugoslavia.[4]
- August 30 – Southern Television, the ITV franchise for South Central and South East England, begins broadcasting.
- September 16 – Orson Welles's The Fountain of Youth is broadcast on NBC-TV's Colgate Theatre.[5]: 424–425 Filmed in 1956 for a proposed Desilu series, the half-hour program airs only once and becomes the only unsold pilot ever to win a Peabody Award.[6][7]: 307
- Fall – The quiz show scandals resulted in the cancellation of the original big-money game show, CBS' "The $64,000 Question", and creating havoc within the US television industry.
- October 1 – Shanghai Television, as early television station launched in China, first regular service to start.[8]
- October 3 – Television Iran, as predecessor of IRIB TV1, a first regular program service television broadcasting station launched in Iran.[citation needed]
- October 17 – Fred Astaire makes his TV starring debut in the NBC special, An Evening with Fred Astaire, which later won nine Emmy Awards and is one of the first TV specials to be preserved on videotape.
- September 20 – Radio Valencia Televisión signs on the air in Venezuela with test transmissions began on April 30.
- November 30 – During the live broadcast of the Armchair Theatre play Underground on the ITV network in the UK, actor Gareth Jones suffers a fatal heart attack between two of his scenes while in make-up.
- December 15 – Channel 4, the flagship station of América Televisión, as well as the first every privately owned television station in Peru, begins officially regular broadcasting service first to viewers in Lima.[9]
- SF DRS, the German-language Swiss television channel, debuts.
- Ampex demonstrates their design for a color video tape recorder.
- In the United Kingdom, the top-rated show of the year is the ITV game show Dotto, adapted from an American game show which in turn was based on children's Connect the dots game.
- The original American version of "Dotto" was the first game show to be implicated in the quiz show scandals, and was cancelled in August.
- Top-rated prime-time game show Twenty-One is cancelled by NBC in October after former contestant Herb Stempel charged that the series was rigged and that he had been ordered to lose a match to the popular Charles Van Doren.
- DuMont company sells its television manufacturing assets to Emerson company. The quality decreases.
- Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
- Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
- Meet the Press (1947–present)
- Candid Camera (1948–present)
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
- Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
- Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
- The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
- The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
- Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
- What's My Line (1950–1967)
- Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
- Dragnet (1951–1959)
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
- I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
- Love of Life (1951–1980)
- Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
- Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
- Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
- American Bandstand (1952–1989)
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
- The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
- The Today Show (1952–present)
- This Is Your Life (1952–1961)
- Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
- The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
- Disneyland (1954–1958) ends on September 3, to resume on September 12 as Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961)
- Face the Nation (1954–present)
- The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
- The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
- The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
- The Tonight Show (1954–present)
- Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
- Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
- Cheyenne (1955–1962)
- Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
- Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
- Jubilee USA (1955–1960)
- Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959)
- The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
- This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
- Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
- As the World Turns (1956–2010)
- The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
- Hancock's Half Hour (UK) (1956–1962)
- Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
- The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
- The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960)
- The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
- The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
- The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960)
- What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
- The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1957–1960)
- The Army Game (UK) (1957–1961)
- Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
- The Real McCoys (1957-1963)
- The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
- General Motors Presents (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
Debuts
- January 4 – Sea Hunt in syndication (1958–1961)
- January 20 – Love That Jill on ABC (1958)
- March 14 – Stahlnetz on West Germany's ARD (1958–1968)
- April 19 – The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby on Italy's RAI 1 (1958)
- June 16 – Variety View (1958–1959) (Melbourne, Australia)
- June 19 – Confession, hosted by Jack Wyatt, on ABC (1958–1959)
- June 23 – Polka Go-Round on ABC (1958–1959)
- August 25 – Concentration on NBC (1958–1973)
- September 6 – Wanted Dead or Alive on CBS (1958–1961)
- September 22 – Peter Gunn on NBC (1958–1961)
- September 24 – The Donna Reed Show on ABC (1958–1966)
- September 29 – The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna Barbera's second series, in syndication (1958–1962)
- September 30 – The Rifleman on ABC (1958–1963)
- October 2
- Behind Closed Doors on NBC (1958–1959)
- The Unforeseen on CBC (1958–1960)
- October 5
- October 8 – Bat Masterson on NBC (1958–1961)
- October 10
- 77 Sunset Strip on ABC (1958–1964)
- Grandstand on BBC Television (1958–2007)
- Man with a Camera on ABC (1958-1960)
- October 15 – Mole's Adventure (Japan), the oldest surviving anime television show.[10]
- October 16 – Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV programme, debuts on BBC Television (1958–present)
- October 17 – An Evening With Fred Astaire on NBC; first show prerecorded on color videotape, wins nine Emmy Awards
- November 4 – Flight (1958–1959) syndicated premiere on NBC NYC; produced by California National Presentation
- November 7 – Our Mutual Friend on BBC Television (1958–1959)
- December 22 – Quatermass and the Pit on BBC Television (1958–1959)
- Autumn Affair (1958–1959), the first Australian-produced television soap opera (on ATN-7 in Sydney, starting 1959 also shown on GTV-9 in Melbourne)
- Café Continental (1958–1961) (Sydney and Melbourne Australia)
- Don Messer's Jubilee (1958–1969)
- The Friendly Giant (1958–1985)
- The Shirley Abicair Show (1958) (Sydney and Melbourne Australia)
- Your Life in Their Hands on BBC Television (1958–1964 and many revivals)
- Unknown – This is Alice in first-run syndication (1958–1959)
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| March 30 | Sally | 1957 |
| April 14 | Love That Jill | 1958 |
| April 28 | Adventures of Superman | 1952 |
| May 16 | Dick and the Duchess | 1957[11] |
| May 31 | The Polly Bergen Show | 1957 |
| June 7 | The Life of Riley | 1953 |
| June 13 | The Patrice Munsel Show | 1957[12] |
| June 24 | Educated Evans | 1957 |
| June 26 | Climax! | 1954 |
| July 8 | Mr. Adams and Eve | 1957 |
| September 6 | Club Oasis | |
| September 15 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | 1950 |
| September 25 | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | 1955 |
| October 1 | Kraft Television Theater | 1947 |
| Unknown | The Jeannie Carson Show | 1956 |
| Date | Name | Notability |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Renn Woods | Actress (Roots) |
| January 4 | Matt Frewer | Actor (Max Headroom, The Pink Panther) |
| January 12 | Christiane Amanpour | Host |
| January 17 | Deran Sarafian | Actor |
| January 20 | Lorenzo Lamas | Actor (Falcon Crest) |
| January 26 | Ellen DeGeneres | Actress & talk show host (Ellen) |
| January 27 | Susanna Thompson | Actress (Once and Again) |
| January 29 | Judy Norton Taylor | Actress (The Waltons) |
| January 30 | Brett Butler | Actress (Grace Under Fire) |
| February 2 | Douglas McGrath | Actor (died 2022) |
| February 13 | Donal Gibson | Actor |
| February 16 | Lisa Loring | Actress (The Addams Family) |
| Ice-T | Actor & rapper (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) | |
| February 19 | Leslie David Baker | Actor (The Office) |
| February 21 | Jack Coleman | Actor (Dynasty, Heroes) |
| Kim Coates | Actor | |
| Denise Dowse | Actress (Beverly Hills, 90210, The Guardian, Charmed) | |
| February 23 | Norm Spencer | Actor (X-Men: The Animated Series, Rescue Heroes) (died 2020) |
| February 24 | Todd Fisher | Actor |
| Margaret Larson | Presenter | |
| February 25 | Mark Moses | Actor (Desperate Housewives, Mad Men) |
| February 26 | Greg Germann | Actor (Ally McBeal) |
| March 3 | Miranda Richardson | Actress |
| March 4 | Patricia Heaton | Actress (Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle) |
| March 10 | Sharon Stone | Actress |
| Mary Murphy | Choreographer | |
| March 15 | Deb Lacusta | Actress |
| March 17 | Christian Clemenson | Actor (CSI: Miami, Boston Legal) |
| March 19 | Fred Stoller | Actor & comedian (Everybody Loves Raymond) |
| March 20 | Holly Hunter | Actress (The Incredibles) |
| March 21 | Gary Oldman | Actor & filmmaker |
| Brad Hall | Actor (Saturday Night Live, The Single Guy, Watching Ellie) | |
| Sabrina Le Beauf | Actress (The Cosby Show) | |
| March 22 | Laurie David | American environmental activist |
| March 25 | James McDaniel | Actor (NYPD Blue) |
| March 27 | Michael O'Leary | Actor & screenwriter (Guiding Light) |
| March 30 | Maurice LaMarche | Voice actor (The Brain on Animaniacs) |
| April 2 | Amelia Marshall | Soap opera actress |
| Jon Klein | CNN former president | |
| April 3 | Alec Baldwin | Actor (30 Rock) |
| April 4 | Constance Shulman | Actress (Doug, Orange is the New Black) |
| April 14 | John D'Aquino | Actor (seaQuest DSV, Cory in the House) |
| April 21 | Andie MacDowell | Actress |
| April 26 | Giancarlo Esposito | Actor |
| Tommy Habeeb | American television host | |
| April 29 | Eve Plumb | Actress (The Brady Bunch) |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Actress | |
| Rosanna Scotto | American news anchor | |
| May 1 | Nick Stellino | Chef, author and TV presenter |
| May 10 | Rick Santorum | Politician and commentator[13] (CNN, Newsmax TV) |
| May 20 | Matt McCoy | Actor |
| May 21 | Tim Hill | Actor |
| May 23 | Drew Carey | Actor, comedian, game show host (The Price Is Right) |
| Lea DeLaria | Actress, comedian | |
| May 26 | Margaret Colin | Actress (As the World Turns, Gossip Girl) |
| May 27 | Linnea Quigley | Actress |
| May 29 | Karen Maruyama | Actress |
| May 30 | Ted McGinley | Actor (Married... with Children, Hope & Faith) |
| May 31 | Roma Maffia | Actress (Profiler) |
| June 5 | Beth Hall | Actress |
| June 7 | Prince | Singer and actor (died 2016) |
| June 12 | Rebecca Holden | Actress & singer |
| June 21 | Eric Douglas | Actor |
| June 22 | Bruce Campbell | Actor (Burn Notice) & director |
| June 27 | Robert Newman | Actor |
| July 3 | Rick Sanchez | Journalist |
| July 4 | Steve Hartman | Sportcaster |
| July 5 | Peter Tolan | Writer |
| July 6 | Jennifer Saunders | Actress & comedian (Absolutely Fabulous) |
| July 8 | Kevin Bacon | Actor |
| July 11 | John Tinker | Writer |
| July 14 | Joe Keenan | Writer |
| Gail Mancuso | American film and television director | |
| July 20 | Billy Mays | American television direct-response advertisement salesperson (died 2009) |
| July 23 | Keenan Ivory Wayans | Actor & comedian (In Living Color) |
| July 24 | Joe Keenan | Writer |
| July 27 | Vincenzo Nicoli | Actor (Hank Zipzer) |
| July 28 | Michael Hitchcock | Actor |
| Isaac Florentine | Israeli film director | |
| July 30 | Richard Burgi | Actor (The Sentinel, Desperate Housewives) |
| July 31 | Mark Cuban | Television personality, and NBA basketball team owner |
| August 1 | Michael Penn | Composer |
| August 6 | Ira Angustain | Actor (The White Shadow) |
| August 8 | Deborah Norville | TV presenter (Today, Inside Edition) |
| August 9 | Amanda Bearse | Actress (Married... with Children) |
| August 10 | John Goldwyn | American film producer |
| August 13 | David Feherty | Golfer |
| August 15 | Rondell Sheridan | Actor (That's So Raven) |
| August 16 | Angela Bassett | Actress |
| Madonna | Singer & actress | |
| Jonathan Prince | Actor | |
| August 18 | Madeleine Stowe | Actress (Revenge) |
| Steven Zirnkilton | American voice actor | |
| Reg E. Cathey | American actor (died 2018) | |
| August 22 | Colm Feore | American-Canadian actor (24, House of Cards) |
| August 24 | Steve Guttenberg | Actor |
| August 25 | Christian LeBlanc | Actor (The Young and the Restless) |
| August 29 | Lenny Henry | English actor and comedian (Chef!) |
| Michael Jackson | Singer and actor (died 2009) | |
| September 3 | Kevin Kiner | Composer |
| September 4 | Drew Pinsky | American media personality |
| September 6 | Jeff Foxworthy | American actor |
| September 11 | Roxann Dawson | Actress (Star Trek: Voyager) |
| Julia Nickson | Actress | |
| Scott Patterson | Actor (Gilmore Girls) | |
| September 12 | Kim Fupz Aakeson | Writer |
| September 14 | Terry Dubrow | American plastic surgeon and television personality |
| September 16 | Jennifer Tilly | Actress |
| September 19 | Kevin Hooks | Actor & director (The White Shadow) |
| September 21 | Penny Smith | TV presenter |
| Jennifer Caron Hall | Actress | |
| September 22 | Kevin Sorbo | Actor (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) |
| September 26 | Dan Foster | Talent show judge (Idols, Nigeria's Got Talent) (died 2020)[14] |
| September 27 | Shaun Cassidy | Actor |
| September 29 | Karen Young | Actress |
| October 1 | Clyde Phillips | Writer |
| October 5 | Neil deGrasse Tyson | Astrophysicist |
| October 9 | Michael Paré | Actor |
| October 16 | Tim Robbins | Actor |
| October 19 | Michael Steele | Political commentator[15] (MSNBC) |
| October 20 | Scott Hall | American pro wrestler (ECW, TNA, NJPW, WCW, WWE) (died 2022) |
| Eric Scott | Actor (The Waltons) | |
| October 22 | Michael Price | Writer |
| October 23 | Jonathan Wolff | American composer |
| Viggo Mortensen | American actor | |
| October 27 | Nina Easton | American author, journalist, TV commentator, entrepreneur, and film producer |
| October 31 | Debbie McGee | English television, radio and stage performer |
| November 1 | Rachel Ticotin | Actress (Ohara, Skin, Law & Order: LA) |
| Stephen Hopkins | Director | |
| November 5 | Robert Patrick | Actor (The X-Files, Scorpion) |
| November 7 | Jon Scott | American television news anchor |
| November 9 | Reid Harrison | Writer |
| November 11 | Donna Wilkes | Actress |
| November 12 | Megan Mullally | Actress & singer (Will & Grace, Bob's Burgers) |
| November 16 | Marg Helgenberger | Actress (Ryan's Hope, China Beach, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) |
| Julie Johnson | Actress | |
| November 17 | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio | Actress |
| November 18 | Oscar Nunez | Cuban-American actor (The Office) |
| November 19 | Terrence C. Carson | Singer and actor (Living Single, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) |
| November 22 | Jamie Lee Curtis | Actress (Anything But Love) |
| Mark Malone | American football quarterback | |
| November 24 | Alain Chabat | Actor |
| November 25 | Dana Tyler | News anchor |
| November 29 | Devon Scott | Actress |
| December 1 | Charlene Tilton | Actress (Dallas) |
| December 7 | Edd Hall | US announcer |
| December 10 | John J. York | US soap actor |
| December 11 | Isabella Hofmann | Actress |
| December 12 | Sheree J. Wilson | Actress (Dallas, Walker, Texas Ranger) |
| December 13 | Clark Brandon | Actor (The Fitzpatricks, Mr. Merlin) |
| December 25 | Cheryl Chase | Voice actress (Angelica Pickles on Rugrats) |
| December 27 | Barbara Crampton | Actress (Days of Our Lives) |
| December 31 | Bebe Neuwirth | Actress, singer and dancer (Cheers, Frasier) |
| Johnny Hardwick | Voice actor (King of the Hill) (died 2023) |
- Alan Alda – The Phil Silvers Show
- Heather Angel – Studio 57
- Bonnie Bedelia – Playhouse 90
- Bruno Cremer – En votre ame et conscience
- Louise Fletcher – Flight
- Charles Grodin – Decision
- George Hamilton – The Veil
- Richard Harris – Play of the Week
- Barry Humphries – Wild Life and Christmas Belles
- Michael Lonsdale – En votre ame et conscience
- Jan Malmsjö – Min syster och jag
- Donald Moffat – Naked City
- Michael J. Pollard – Omnibus
- Vanessa Redgrave – Sunday Night Theatre
- Oliver Reed – The Invisible Man
- Maximilian Schell – Der Meisterdieb
- Vic Tayback – Buckskin
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